Home again: members and reintegration

Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 9264.
Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 9544.

Editor's Note: This is the first installment in a three-part series addressing how reintegration affects families in the military.

STUTTGART, Germany -- When a deployment ends, service members and families may feel like their troubles are finally over.

However, it takes time to recuperate from spending months to a year in a combat zone. And, the adjustment isn't always easy.

"I liken it to taking a rucksack off," said Chaplain (Col.) Randall Dolinger, U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart command chaplain. "It feels really good to take a rucksack off ... but you're still really tired. You still have to recover from that time."

Service members and behavioral health experts say seeking support from others is the best way to mitigate or avoid problems after returning home.

Phases of reintegration

The "reintegration" period is the first few months after a service member returns from a deployment, according to Dr. Eric Leong, chief of behavioral health for the Stuttgart Army Health Clinic.

During this time, they are reintroduced to their family, a garrison job and life outside of work.

The first month or so is called the "honeymoon phase" of reintegration, in which time the service member and his or her family are just excited to be together again, Leong said.

But by the third month, deployment issues start to surface, according to Leong. "If you are going to have problems, that's when they peak," he said.

A tale of four deployments

Staff Sgt. Greg Hatfield, a military policeman with the 554th Military Police Company in USAG Stuttgart, has deployed four times during his 12 years of service. Every time he's come home, there have been different hurdles to confront.

His first three deployments were almost back-to-back: Kosovo for nine months in 2001, then Iraq for a year in 2003 and again in 2005.

"It was a brutal time for me and my wife," he said. "For five years, we saw each other for 19 months. It was kind of a blur."

After his first deployment to Kosovo, there were not many programs in place to help him and his family readjust, he said. "There were a few classes. Then, they threw me back to my family," he said.

"It was very rough on everyone I know," he said of fellow Soldiers. "A lot of families didn't make it."

When Hatfield came home after the 2003 deployment to Iraq, the stress built up over the two deployments spilled out. On top of that, his wife had given birth to their first child, Brianna, while he was away.

"It was hell," he said. "I resented coming home. I had an almost 1-year-old daughter there, needing attention. All I wanted to do was be left alone."

Hatfield didn't want to talk to his wife about what he had encountered down range, which put stress added on the marriage.

"She always felt so left out," he added. "I just felt so exhausted all the time. I was just so distant."

Arguments became more frequent.

"I've never been an angry person," he said. "I would lash out."

Everyday noises would startle him. One night, when he was doing the dishes, his wife walked in and said his name, which sent him into high alert.

"I would drop to the floor, my heart pounding," he said. "There were signs of PTSD and I didn't realize it."

His family encouraged him to see a counselor, so he visited a website he had on a refrigerator magnet, www.myarmyonesource.com, and was referred to a trained PTSD counselor at the local Veterans Affairs hospital. However, he soon had to deploy again.

While on his third deployment in 2005, Hatfield lost some friends and saw others get injured, which made his symptoms worse. He decided he needed to see a counselor, despite discouragement from his commander.

"I took heat from my commander," Hatfield said. "He didn't want me to go," because he thought other Soldiers would follow suit, he added.

Hatfield went anyway.

"Once I went, several other Soldiers stepped forward and said 'Sgt. Hatfield, because you had the courage to do this, I have also.' It's one of the things that stuck with me in my career," he said.

Seeing the counselor helped Hatfield, but he and his wife still had issues to address from previous deployments when he returned home again, he said.

After moving to USAG Fort Hamilton in 2006, they started seeing a counselor at the local VA hospital, again though myarmyonesource.com, and continued to do so for two years. Sessions are confidential for all service members, unless they pose a danger to themselves or others, Hatfield added.

"It was probably the best thing for us," Hatfield said. "We had made agreements as to behavioral changes, and we stuck to it."

They also started to communicate regularly.

"If something is bothering you, it's important you tell [your spouse]," Hatfield said. "[Your] wife or husband can't help you if you don't open up."

Since Hatfield returned from his fourth deployment in May with the 554th MP Co., things are very different than they used to be.

"We change how we address [issues]," he said. "We don't yell; we talk. This time, there's more peace at home."

He attributed this to the counseling programs he has taken advantage of.

"The Army's come a long way since I first went for help," he said. "My last unit made it so easy for me to get the help I needed to save my family and myself, because we were on the road to divorce."

Trouble sleeping

Besides marital issues, the most common problem Dolinger and Leong see in service members is trouble sleeping.

"About 70 percent of people coming back from a deployment have a serious sleeping disorder," Leong said. These can range from simply not being able to sleep to having vivid nightmares, thrashing or even choking a spouse during sleep.

"A lot of times, they can't sleep," Leong said. "Symptoms worry about things all the time. They worry about friends, they worry about their families. If they [lost] anybody down range, they feel personally responsible for that, and a lot of them can't let it go."

Lack of sleep can lead to other issues, including irritability and hyper vigilance, Leong said.

"It's affecting their home life. It's affecting their ability to do their job," Leong said.

Leong encourages service members who can't sleep to get professional help right away.

"If I can fix the sleep problem, a lot of other stuff goes away," Leong said. "A lot of people feel so much better, they can manage the rest."

The worst thing to do is self-treat the problem with alcohol or over-the-counter sleep aids, he added.

"It will start to destroy your health, family, finances, career," Leong said.

A change in tempo

In addition to causing sleep issues, transitioning from working non-stop to having free time again, is tough.

"What tends to happen over time is the Soldier goes out in theater and gets exposed to a lot of combat things, learns to think in a different way," Leong said.

Redeployed service members may experience a variety of side effects during this time, including decreased sexual drive, hyper vigilance, and the desire to be alone, he added.

Dolinger noted that most service members experience a constant feeling of unease after a deployment. "They haven't figured out how to unwind," he said.

Dolinger experienced this himself, after returning from a 12-month tour of Iraq in 2004.

"It took several months before I could truly be at ease," he said. "I did not have a real sense of peace. You're just bouncing from one thing to another, and your mind's racing."

Sgt. 1st Class Todd Parsons, detachment sergeant for the Headquarters, Headquarters Detachment, 52nd Signal Battalion, stationed in USAG Stuttgart, said he felt guilty for spending time at home, after spending six months in Afghanistan as an individual augmentee until February 2010.

"It was tough coming back, coming off working every day, sometimes 18 hours a day," he said. "Your body is set up to go, go, go. Sometimes I felt guilty on the weekend; it was hard to relax because I felt like I was wasting time."

The truth about PTSD

Though certain symptoms of PTSD, including hyper alertness, or sleep issues, are common in redeployed service members, the odds of having full-blown PTSD are extremely low, Leong said.

"People say, 'If you deploy, you'll get PTSD,'" Leong said. "No, you won't. It depends on what the deployment was like."

Only 7 percent of service members who watch a friend get killed down range will have PTSD, Leong said. Those who witness moderate combat have a 30 percent chance of having PTSD, and those who witness severe combat have a 50 percent chance. Those at the highest risk are prisoners of war, with a 95 percent change, he added.

An individual's risk for having PTSD is affected by: "the more personal something is, the more times it happens and the more horrible it is," he said.

Regardless of whether or not they have PTSD or just need help adjusting, service members can always receive help, he added.

"As bad as problems might be, there is help out there, and they can get treatment," he said. "And, the earlier they get treatment, the better."

If an emergency or in the event of an accident strikes, you can prepare?

Floods in Pakistan, Haiti, Russian fires earthquakes in any natural disasters can happen to anyone.

For this reason, Americans are encouraged to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies, homes, businesses and communities, National preparedness month and during the month of September.

This year, the National preparedness month focuses on is requested for all actively involved in emergency preparedness.

In fact, U.s. Army Garrison Stuttgart has become the 2010 national preparedness month Coalition member.

USAG Stuttgart is related to the more than 2,700 civil and military organisations requires pledging support 50 building communities that work together to act in an emergency situation.

Emergency preparedness is much more than smoke detectors, dead on arrival at the hotel bar is well stocked pantry screws and fully.

Consider serious winter storm knocks out power for five days or tornado, such as in July, which killed three people in Lower-Saxony, Germany-do you have a contingency plan should disaster strike?

Knowing what to do can save you time, property and lives.

GET A KIT

"When preparing possible emergency situation, you should consider first survival basics: fresh water, food, clean air and heat," according to them, the ready.gov website.

The site recommends that you take enough basic supplies available, in order to survive at least three days in emergency.

Even if the website contains basic information on emergency supplies to the print list, officials suggest that Americans consider where they live and their family members in the event of an emergency supply kit needs to create a market of this kind is one both in the home and their vehicles.

MAKE A PLAN

Families, who have spent creating and using emergency plans are more ready to respond to and recover the emergency.

The plan spells out how you can report with the members of the family, and if you have more connected with them.

Online application to help create a family emergency plan is available at http://ready.adcouncil.org/beprepared.

The willingness to begin about potential dangers.

Ready Army website at www.ready.army.mil contains risk fact sheets for download weather, natural disasters, diseases and man-made hazards.

Kelley CDC opens, add Stuttgart community care settings

STUTTGART, Germany--child care in the United States Army Garrison Stuttgart options is expanded, the new Kelley child Development Center-Kelley Barracks.

5 Million dollar facility has four in particular in the case of children to the care of the work centers first meet Europe. Landstuhl, Wiesbaden and Ansbach military communities projects are expected to meet several-month period.

The emphasis on child care facilities, is relevant for the purposes of the Army Family Covenant promise of Soldiers and families of children, adolescents and school excellence.

"This opportunity to represent the Army Family Covenant commitment on funding and by increasing the availability, quality and affordability of child care," said column Carl d. Bird, USAG Stuttgart Commander, tape-cutting ceremony for the development of 23 calendar.

United States Africa Command Commander General William e. "Kip" Ward joined the opening in the middle of the Bird.

Ward said that although the need for child development centre was managed by emergency measures in the event of the entire staff, "AFRICOM Stuttgart military interests of the community."

New Kelley CDC provides for the full day care for children 5 years 6 weeks.

Suzanne King-USAG Stuttgart family and morale, welfare and Recreation Director of the "allows us to provide about 25 more whole day of departure from the old institution," said.

It allows for children, young people and School Services extend its hourly carefully and part of the day nursery program now old CDC, dubbed "Kelley CDC attachment."

"This is the first time we've offered five days, part-day-program," said Hyacinth Smith, Vice President Kelley CDC and its annex. "Previously, we had only a portion of the day program in preschool and pre-K, three appetite suppressing
hours per day is now on a daily basis in all age groups. "

Per hour for the treatment set out in the annex is available from 6 a.m., 6 p.m., Monday through Friday at the children's ages. Kinder through pre-kindergarten, six weeks for the 7: 30 a.m. 30: clock Strong marked, CYS Services readiness program will start, Kinder offered 8 at noon and follow a schedule of local schools.

Children is an old Kelley CDC began the development of a new centre of 16 May.

Robin Reed, education and curriculum specialist CYS Services "the children were so excited about the toys, new environments and a playground," said.

"It is a beautiful port facility," he said. "Things are well stored and attractively displayed is extremely attractive environment for children and adults. "

Even if the child and adult welcomes a new CDC, as are the garrison of energy management.

"We have to reduce our energy consumption is required 3% every year ... and are constantly looking for ways to save energy and operate more efficiently," said USAG Stuttgart Directorate of public works ' Werner Kienzle.

Solar panels in the ceiling, double paned Windows, well insulated from the exterior walls-and energy-saving light bulbs, as well as in the whole building will be error-free help Kienzle meets its goals of energy security within the garrison.

Editor's Note: Justin Ward, US Army Corps Engineers, Europe Public Affairs Office, contribute to the story.

seventh CSC responds to disasters during GS 10

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany-chemical factory release accidently abroad video panic, sickness and within the city in which the establishment is situated, there are a number of deaths cause toxic gases. All of the chaos to a Forecast by the situation worse, citizens who reside in the territory of a direct impact on the sector. The call in a foreign country to Us for help. Who's it going?

The use of Guardian Shield 10 each year, the train when the consequence management operations of the seventh of the crisis in civil support Command was made in August 17-20 in the Rhine EOD units car bomb.

Seventh CSC had notice and organize Plock, Poland-scenario.Guardian Shield 10 is one of the exercises to help educate its mission, the administration of Justice and Home Affairs in the field of civil seventh CSC series.

A relatively new unit to activated Sept. 2009, seventh CSC is unique, as the only consequence management and civil affairs unit in Europe book. have as their sole object the cases respond to immediate assistance as searches of persons or a return to normality.

Seventh CSC is trained and ready to move forward in the context of the armed forces, consequence management command and control, civil support groups and civil society affairs features. they also provide immediate response capability of the United States Army Europe by.

seventh civil support Command's Incident management team members are involved in the Guardian Shield 10 collects each within their own sections to discuss More.Add is a sudden problem that is placed within the schedule requires should be used.(Photo by Spc. Glenn Anderson m., seventh civil support Command Public Affairs)

"This was the focus of the command or control," said Captain Major Robinson, the seventh CSC-training officer and the battle of Captain for the purposes of this exercise, the night shift. "It is almost day and night, and how much better we were this time around. "

What I see is moving direction into account in the real world and the seventh CSC will not take long before we are ready to handle it. "We are headed in the right direction, "Robinson will be added.

Mark Terry, consequence management Frog Checks rights of the contractor's Defense Threat reduction Agency and access to the designer/observer GS10 controller and after a review of the seventh said ' does not have the challenges of staff rotations.Seventh CSC the beauty is that there is a strong desire to learn and very and that is, if you are a golden. "

These exercises are carried out in such a way that the strengths and weaknesses can be on the basis of established and tuotevalikoimasi. And as long as the use of the performance is dedicated to the people, the unit is really good more energetically, how things are made, said Terry.

Then he added that the seventh CSC is from top to bottom, a large group that wants to reach the goal. development plans and, of course, is here to help foreign DTRA consequence management training.

James Otto, seventh Director of emergency services "CSC GS10 If some of the most realistic training in seventh Polish with the members of the CSC fire services, police forces, the US air force in Poland and the use of the fleet, to give the feel of real world cases," said.

Mother nature provides fire, tsunamis and earthquakes around the world. Disaster strikes the unintentional chemical releases or an explosion. Seventh CSC continuously trains and prepares to respond to If.

Stuttgart Bodybuilding, figure out the muscles in the Group competition

STUTTGART, Germany--bodybuilders and picture this year in the United States Army Garrison competitors Stuttgart wanted to the edge of the lifting weights and training causes them to competition: They needed a system.

N why they created USAG Stuttgart-Bodybuilding and the image just in time for the 2010 Team-annual European Bodybuilding and figure in the US Army's Championship at the Stuttgart Kelley Theater development 28.

The strategy worked.

Stuttgart still walked out of the Group of eight prizes, such as with the General Bodybuilding trophies to men and women.

Competitors came from all over Germany, including the Landstuhl, Darmstadt and Vicenza, Italy.

"Per Year, we get the competitiveness," said Anja Langer, one of the competition judges and 1988 Ms. Olympia maximum.

"This competition is very difficult to assess," she adds. "It is very impressive to see people have willpower. "

Bodybuilders were judged to be muscularity, symmetry and proportions through free, mandatory cause for comparisons with competitors prior to 90 seconds.Picture of the competitors were judged to be the face of beauty, poise and muscularity, in addition to "T-walk" on both sides of the stage and cause during the comparison.

The tournament is sanctioned by the international Natural Bodybuilding and fitness centre Federation. Guest posers is included Justin Houstin, the world's Natural Bodybuilding Federation pro and 50-year-old Reinhard "Hucky" Maier, Member of the local national and International Federation of Bodybuilding and fitness centre pro.

Training and Bodybuilding competitions that the image is associated with intense workouts and a very strict diet.

"When you get If your chicken, weighing and calculation of your almonds, you know that you have the discipline," said Nelanie Hamilton, for the first time the image of a competitor from Stuttgart.

Picture of the competitors, it may be even more difficult: they must establish their strength in the four-inch heels.

Hamilton joined the Stuttgart group additional support. "It allows other experience, "he said.

In fact, help others through training is one of the reasons why the Travis Welborn began group.

"It is the team concept: people help you out," said Welborn, technical sergeant, who is employed in the United States European Command, and the third place winner J2 men's lightweight Bodybuilding category. "We are in the IPU to each other; we can help each other diet tips on ... cause and training."

In addition, support each other, competitors was still spend a lot of time and effort in their physiques, Stuttgart's top male and female bodybuilders as evidenced by the people.

Ludan, women's Bodybuilding and displayed in general fashion, Naomi attributed his success to two things: "dedication and sacrifice."

It was Ludan's competing, for the first time, even if he has removed weights for several years the public thereof were drowned out. almost his music cheers when he took the stage at which the muscle surface only, which rivaled her male counterparts.

As well, an expert with Vashaan Johnson 52nd signal Battalion, which has taken the first men's middleweight and General Bodybuilding training called "part-time jobs."

But paid work: Johnson made the Home pro card.

Charmaine Valmonte, the other for the first time the bodybuilder his dedication to pay in other ways.
Because Valmonte education, he has lost 23 pounds and his uniform, which he says to use as a skinny jeans-such as hangs out and him now.

"This Bodybuilding was 40 Birthday gift challenge," said Valmonte, Army-large working EUCOM J6.

He adds that he could not make the promotion from his real-time with teammates. "We find each other in motivation, "he said.

"Is a challenge. some days is painful," she adds. but in the end it was all its values. "At this point, the strengthening of the mission. "